Citation NR: 9615041
Decision Date: 05/31/96 Archive Date: 06/12/96
DOCKET NO. 94-17 218 ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Louis,
Missouri
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to an increased disability evaluation for
traumatic arthritis of the sacroiliac joints, currently
evaluated as 10 percent disabling.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
Jerome Hanifin, Associate Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The appellant served on active duty from July 1942 to
December 1943.
This matter came before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the
Board) on appeal from a decision dated in May 1992 by the St.
Louis, Missouri, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional
Office (RO).
REMAND
The veteran seeks an increased rating for service connected
traumatic arthritis of the sacroiliac joints. According to
the medical evidence, in addition to the traumatic arthritis,
he suffers from other low back disabilities, principally
degenerative arthritis of the spine. Obviously,
manifestations of back disorders other than service connected
traumatic arthritis of the sacroiliac joints may not be
considered in establishing the service connected evaluation.
38 C.F.R. § 4.14. The Board requires medical opinion as to
the nature and severity of the traumatic arthritis.
Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following action:
1. The RO should obtain copies of all of
the veteran’s VA treatment records which
date from late 1993 to the present time,
and associate those records with the
claims file.
2. The RO should schedule the veteran
for VA orthopedic examination of the
spine. Following the examination, and
after review of the claims file, the
examiner should express an opinion as to
those signs and symptoms, if any, which
can reasonably be attributed solely to
the traumatic arthritis of the sacroiliac
joints. The reasoning which forms the
basis of the opinion should be set forth
in detail.
3. When this development is completed,
the RO should review the claim under all
pertinent criteria, including 38 C.F.R.
§ 3.321(b)(1). If the benefits sought
are not granted, and after completion of
the usual procedures, the case should be
returned to the Board, if in order.
NANCY I. PHILLIPS
Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals
The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, 741
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to
be assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination. This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals. This remand is in the nature of a
preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of the
Board on the merits of your appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b)
(1995).
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